1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to barcode labels on which plural barcodes are printed for use as luggage tags for airline passenger luggage or product shipping labels, for example. More particularly, the invention relates to barcode labels that can be used applied to a labelled object so that an existing barcode can be read by existing barcode readers without being affected by a newly added barcode, and the newly added barcode can be read as needed. The invention also relates to a method of using the barcode labels.
2. Related Art
Management systems that use barcodes to manage product distribution and shipping, for example, are common. Such barcode management systems affix a label (a shipping label) on which a barcode is printed on the product or other object to be tracked by means of the barcode, read the barcode from the label affixed to the product at each stage of the shipping process, and manage the information captured from the barcode on a computer terminal.
Coupons, product advertisements, and similar content can also be added with a barcode to the label so that additional services can be offered to customers based on the information carried in the added barcode. However, if the barcode added to provide additional services is also read when the product shipping bode is read, the shipping information carried in the shipping barcode may not be accurately read, resulting in problems with shipping management. To avoid such problems, a management system that uses a special barcode reader such as taught in Japanese Unexamined Patent Appl. Pub. JP-A-H05-081460 must be used.
However, in order to use a special barcode reader such as taught in JP-A-H05-081460, the management system that uses conventional barcodes must be modified, and such modifications incur additional costs.